By John George
It wouldn't have been right to run the Perham Invite without rain. Early afternoon sunshine almost ruined the tradition of poor weather when the Jackets host their annual invite at the CC Course at Arvig Park Tuesday.
It would have taken a lot more than rain to slow down both boys and girls teams as the Jackets showed off in front of the home crowd with a pair of first place finishes.
The girls were running their lone home meet without their lone senior, Alli Januszewski. She was sitting out because of a tender knee. She said it was disappointing not to run at home, but resting for the Heart O' Lakes Conference meet next week in Roseau was more important.
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Even without Januszewski, Perham finished with five runners in the top-21 for a score of 46. Abby Anderson led the way with her first varsity race win in 14:56. Maddie McClellan was second (15:09).
I felt really good the first mile," Anderson said. "Coach Morris wanted me and Maddie to go out behind our fourth runner at the beginning of the race. Half way through I picked up the pace, then I really went all out the last mile and a half."
"I've been reaching all these PR's (personal records) lately," Anderson said. Finally a first place."
She set a school record of 14:52 at the Milaca Mega Meet.
Stenger gets first win
To say the Yellowjacket boys were confident coming into Tuesday's race would be an understatement.
The team's top three runners played rock-paper-scisors Monday to see who would "get" to win the race. Eddie Stenger came out on top. The senior won his first varsity race with a time of 16:59. Kevin Lachowitzer was close behind (17:00).
"Kevin took third (in Monday's game of chance)," Stenger said. "But Justin (Tellinghuisen) fell off a bit at the end."
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Tellinghuisen finished third overall (17:12). Fellow senior Parker Carignan was seventh, and Keith Schornack was 11th, giving Perham 24 points.
"We didn't really push it too hard," Stenger said. "But it was fun to be able to have a fun run like this as a senior at home."
HOL ahead
Perham will run at the HOL Championships in Roseau on Oct. 9. The Jacket boys have won straight HOL titles. The girls have won three straight conference crowns.
Tuesday, October 2
Perham Invite
Boys Team Scores
1. Perham 21, 2. Little Falls 80, 3. Detroit Lakes 84, 4. Wadena-Deer Creek 107, 5. Bagley-Fosston 129, 6. Roseau 156, 7. West Central Area 164, 8. Otter Tail Central 195, 9. Pelican Rapids 201.
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Medalist: Eddie Stenger (P) 16:59.
Perham Individuals: 2. Lachowitzer 17:00, 3. Tellinghuisen 17:12, 7. Carignan 17:35, 11. Schornack 17:51, 13. Barney 18:15, 14. Isaac Werner 18:17.
Girls Team Scores
1. Perham 43, 2. Detroit Lakes 79, 3. Little Falls 103, 4. Wadena-Deer Creek 108, 5. East Grand Forks 115, 6. Roseau 135, 7. Pelican Rapids 159, 8. Bagley-Fosston 164, 9. West Central Area 167.
Medalist: Abby Anderson (P) 14:56.
Perham Individuals: 2. McClellan 15:09, 8. Beseman 16:18, 14. Covington 16:53, 21. Gigstead 17:20, 41. Miller 17:57.
Boys Class A Poll
1. Perham
2. Warroad
3. Holy Family Catholic
4. LP-GE
5. Adrian
6. Byron
7. USC/AC
8. Pine City
9. St. James
10. Minnehaha Academy
Kevin Lachowitzer (P) No. 1
Eddie Stenger (P) No. 4
Justin Tellinghuisen (P) No. 7
Girls Class A Poll
1. Adrian
2. Perham
3. Fairmont
4. Rochester Lourdes
5. Staples-Motley
6. LaCrescent
7. Holy Family Catholic
8. Park Rapids
9. Mankato Loyola
10. St. Cloud Cathedral
Abby Anderson (P) No. 4
Maddie McClellan (P) No. 6
